Don't Open the Window
by A Rose By Another Name
Summary: Sarah has gone out with family for the night and has left her teen daughter Roxie to look after her 3 little sisters. Roxie is allowed to do anything that she wants to do but she can't, under any circumstances, open any of the windows. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all! How are things going?? I was watching _Labyrinth_ one day and I started to just jot down this idea that I had gotten. **

**I hope that you all like this idea!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and places from _Labyrinth_, Jim Henson and George Lucas do. I also do not own David Bowie (cries a little) or any of the songs in _Labyrinth_, he owns all of the songs' rights along with Trevor Jones. **

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Sarah didn't like arguing with her daughter, especially when it was about Roxie and her life. But it seemed as though every weekend, Roxie would just have to pick an argument with Sarah about how she would rather eat dirt than sit at home and watch her 3 little sisters.

"Well, Roxie," Sarah yelled after her daughter as she stomped upstairs to her room, "I wouldn't have to have this argument with you every weekend if you would just let me know if you were planning on going out with your friends during the weekend!"

"You wouldn't take that under consideration anyway!" Roxie yelled back at her mother, "You would still make me stay home with my sisters anyway no matter what my plans were or weren't!"

Roxie then slammed the door and turned on her music. Sarah just turned to her husband, Jim and sighed.

"What am I going to do with her?" Sarah asked, looking at the place on the stairs where Roxie once stood. "It is like this every weekend and every time that we argue, it seems like it tears us further and further apart."

Jim walked over and put his arm around Sarah's shoulder.

He kissed her on the cheek and said, "You have to remember that you were like that, too. I clearly remember a certain young lady would be forced to stay home with her baby brother every weekend because she never had any plans."

"I know," Sarah said, sighing, "But it seems that the wounds of these arguments with Roxanne seem to run deeper than the other ones that I had with my stepmother."

"Well," Jim said, turning to Sarah and placing his hands on her shoulders, "I will go and talk with her and see what I can do to make her smile even for a little bit."

Jim kissed his wife on her cheek again and headed upstairs to his daughter's room.

Roxie had been living in Sarah's childhood room since Roxie was about 5 years old. Nothing much had changed around the room, except for a couple of new posters that aligned the walls. Posters of the bands _Queen_ and _Led Zepplin_ and _Oingo Boingo_ filled the spaces where Sarah's theatrical posters had once been. By the bed, there used to be a small shelving unit that used to house Sarah's collection of Teddy Bears; but now, the shelving unit had been modified to fit a small stereo that would often be blaring rock music whenever Roxie was either mad or doing homework. The small, twin size canopy bed with white sheets and blankets was still there and hadn't changed a bit. Roxie had also decided to keep her mother's old vanity with a mirror. There, Roxie would either practice her presence while singing and performing or she would be trying new things with her long, black dyed hair. Besides the difference in décor and shelving units, Roxie hadn't changed a thing about her mother's old room.

Roxie was lying on her bed when her father knocked on her door, asking if he could come in.

"Sure, whatever." Roxie said, turning off her music that could already be heard from the downstairs living room.

Jim came into the room and just looked at his daughter.

She had been wearing her favorite outfit today, a pair of ripped jeans that had large holes at the knee from skateboarding and a black t-shirt that had the crest of her favorite band _Queen_ on it with the first names of all of the people that were in the band on the back of the shirt. Roxie had worn her red, high rise, Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars today, but she had taken them off, exposing her black and red striped socks. Roxie's long, black hair was in a loose ponytail that was lying behind her head on her bed.

"Your mother is worried about your connection with her." Jim said, sitting down at the foot of Roxie's bed, "She worries about how it is affecting your life at school and with your friends."

"It doesn't bother me." Roxie said, looking up at the ceiling and wishing that her father would just leave her alone to her babysitting misery, "She is the boss, so, obviously there isn't any point in arguing with her since it will all end up her way anyway."

Jim was getting annoyed with his daughter's attitude and how long it was taking for her to snap out of it. He told her that she needed to get over this attitude for tonight so that Roxie's younger sisters wouldn't start to copy her.

"Fine, Fine, Fine!" Roxie said, sitting up and giving her father an icy glare, "I will snap out of it! Geez, I think it is YOU that have the attitude, Dad."

Jim just looked at his watch and realized that he didn't have the time and the patience to try and reason with his 15 year old daughter. He just kissed her on the forehead and told her that her sisters were already fed and that all Roxie had to do was put them in their PJs and put them to bed.

"Roxanne," Jim said, trying to get his daughter's attention, "I hope that you know the rules of when we are out. Do you?"

"Yeah, sure, Dad; I know the rules." Roxie said, lying down on the bed again.

"Would you mind running them by me again, just so I know."

"Don't ever...um..."

"'Don't ever...um...'?" Jim said, leaning on the frame of the door with his arms crossed, "I don't think that that is a rule of this household. What is it, Roxanne?"

Roxie turned her head towards her dad in the door way. "I don't remember the rule…so…why don't you be the good father that you say that you are and tell me what it is?!"

Jim was not in the mood and along with Sarah yelling from downstairs to hurry up because Toby and Jane were in the driveway.

"Fine, the rule is don't, under any circumstances, open the window for any reason. That rule is from your mother and she expects that you obey it. We have to go, so goodbye and I love you."

"Love you too, Dad."

With that, Jim shut the door to the sight of Roxie lying on her bed looking up at the theatrical poster of the one show that Roxie could only bear sing along to in front of her parents without getting embarrassed…_Jekyll and Hyde_. The poster had been from the performances where Sarah had starred as one of the lead roles for more than a year of performances…Lucy, the East End dancer that falls in love with Edward Hyde, another main character. Roxie had gone to most of the performances when she was a girl and all of the cast members that had worked with her had become, almost, Roxie's second family.

Roxie's eyes began to get heavy and droop in front of her eyes. Soon, Roxie was fast asleep; dreaming dreams that brought back memories and nightmares of the stage that her mother used to act on.

Roxie was standing on a blank stage dressed in a dress that was Victorian style and looked like the dress that her mom, Sarah, had worn when she was playing Lucy when Sarah was in the musical _Jekyll and Hyde_. The dress was black and deep blood red and the skirt fell an inch away from where Roxie's ankle boots stopped. She was corseted into the dress and the black lace trimmings on the hem of the skirt and sleeves were falling off. Roxie's stockings were black and red striped and her ankle boots were black and laced all of the way up 2 inches above her ankle. There were some rips and tears here and there on her stockings, and around Roxie's shoulders there lay draped across her shoulders a dirty, old shawl.

There was a single light that shone down onto the spot on the stage where Roxie was standing. Roxie could hear the sounds of people in the audience coughing and moving in their seats.

Roxie could feel her heart beat in her ears. This was her worst nightmare…left on the bare stage after saying her line with the conductor forgetting to start the beginning of the song.

Roxie could hear the people of the audience begin to chat amongst themselves about what was the matter with her and why she wasn't singing. She looked down to find that the conductor wasn't even at his little podium in the pit. Roxie knew that the show must go on and could no one else on the stage besides her. Roxie then lifted her head up high and started to sing the song "Dangerous Game" by herself…a capella.

"_I feel your fingers_

_Cold on my shoulder_

_Your chilling touch_

_As it runs down my spine_

_Watching your eyes_

_As they invade my soul's forbidden pleasures_

_Unafraid to make mine_

_At the touch of your hand_

_At the sound of your voice_

_At the moment your eyes meet mine_

_I am loosing my mind_

_I am loosing control _

_Fighting feelings I can't define_"

Halfway through the beginning of the song, the orchestra started to play along with the singing and the conductor had returned to his podium at the center of the pit.

Roxie felt relieved that she was now accompanied by music and continued on with the song. Suddenly, Roxie felt as though she was being watched by someone or something that was on the stage. She could feel the gaze on her back as she moved around the stage trying to get rid of the feeling.

The feeling got stronger as the end of the song got nearer and nearer. Just then as Roxie was turning around to interact with the actor in her dream that was playing Edward Hyde, Roxie turned to find a pair of eyes looking straight at her. One of the eyes was a light, icy blue, while the other eye was a deep hazel that seemed to have flakes of gold in them.

The eyes followed her as she walked backwards off the edge of the stage in into the pit where it seemed to get deeper and deeper as Roxie fell.

Off in the darkness while Roxie was falling…she could hear the faint sound of someone banging or poking at something as though they were trying to get through.

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****OoOoOoOoOohhhhhhhh! What is going to happen when Roxie wakes up? And what was that weird sound that seemed to echo off into the darkness?**

**All will be reveled if you will send me reviews! The more reviews…the more of a chance that I will be able to get the next chapter up!**

**Thank you all for reading this!**

**A Rose By Another Name**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back!!!!! Thank you all for my wonderful reviews! I am happy that you all liked my story. **

**Sorry about updating late but I had to crawl out of the abyss that is school!! So, here is the long awaited chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, and songs from the movie _Labyrinth_. Jim Henson, George Lucas, Trevor Jones, and (sigh) David Bowie are all responsible for those things. I only own my own original characters.**

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Roxie awoke to the sounds of someone knocking at the door to her room.

"Roxie…we need our bedtime story!" screamed the voices of Roxie's little sisters from outside her door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Roxie said, getting out of bed and putting on her black slippers with white skulls and crossbones on them, "Let me first get a book to read to you all!"

Roxie searched around the room for a book to read.

Searching through Roxie's bookshelf, she started to eliminate books that Roxie had either read to them before or were too scary for her to read to her 3 little sisters.

While searching, the sounds of pounding fists and whiny voices grew louder and louder from the hallway.

"WE WANT A STORY NOW!" screamed the little sisters.

"Alright FINE!" Roxie screamed, grabbing a book from the shelf without looking and dashing to the door. When Roxie opened the door, she was greeted by 3 angry, little sisters.

Roxie was, as her mom Sarah liked to put it, blessed with 3 adorable little sisters. Lucy, Sally, and Emily were triplets that were as different as morning, noon, and night…and to think that they were, at least, 8 minutes apart each. Bright and sunny Lucy was the oldest of the triplets, then came mellow and calm Sally in the middle, and then quiet and sincere Emily as the youngest of the 3. Lucy was wearing a pink nightgown, Sally a green one, and Emily was sporting a blue nightgown.

Along with a nightgown, each of the sisters was also wearing a pout on her face that had shown that they were not in the mood for being patient any longer.

"Could you all be any louder?" Roxie asked them, shutting the door to her room behind her.

"Well we wouldn't have to have been loud and annoying if you had moved quicker!" Lucy said, normally the nice one but I guess that agitation gets to the best of us sometimes.

"Well I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't reading you a story that you had already heard."

"Well, we wouldn't had cared." Sally said, moving out of the way of their teenage sister who was coming out of her room.

Roxie wasn't in the mood to get lip from her sisters right now. All she wanted to do was get them to bed so that she could listen to music and draw until her mom and dad had gotten home.

Roxie herded her sisters into their room and into their beds.

Lucy's, Sally's, and Emily's bedroom was one of those basic bedrooms that all little 7 year old girls get when they are into fairy tales and pretty stuff. The walls were a light pink and the dresser, vanity, and bed frames were all white with certain color trimmings to match each girl's individual bed sheet set. The colors of the sheets and blankets matched the color of the nightgown that each girl was wearing.

Once the girls were in their beds, Roxie actually looked at the book that she had picked so carelessly off the shelf in her room.

It was a little red book with gold trimmings on it. The book was pocket sized and very tattered and worn, almost as if it had been shoved into bags and pockets too many times. On the front of the worn book were the words "The Labyrinth" in gold.

_The Labyrinth……I recognize the name_.

Roxie had indeed seen the book before. Sarah used to read sections to Roxie before bed when Roxie was a little girl.

The ribbon page marker that was attached to the spine of the book was inserted between two pages far in the book. When Roxie opened up to the page, there was a particular passage that had been outlined lightly with a pencil. It was a scene that her mother used to read very fast whenever she would read the book to Roxie.

"Give me the child." Roxie said to herself, staring at the words that seemed to flow across the page, "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way to the castle beyond the Goblin City…to take back the child that you have stolen."

Just as Roxie was reciting the passage, she felt strange…as though she was being watched.

"Are you okay Roxie?" Emily asked sounding very worried for her older sister.

"Yeah, I'm fine Emily." Roxie said, closing the small red book and pocketing it, "I have decided to read a different book to you all tonight because I picked a book that I have already read to you once before. So, why don't you go and pick out another book for me to read to you, okay?"

"Okay."

As Emily ran off, Lucy and Sally were snuggling into bed with their favorite stuffed animals. Roxie leaned against the white shelf and started to read the book that she had plucked off of the shelf.

Roxie seemed to sink into the pages themselves and be part of the story...almost as if she was there. Roxie seemed to sink into the pages themselves until a tug at her pants leg woke her up out of her daydream.

She looked down to find Emily looking up at her with a sparkly blue book.

"What book did you pick for a story tonight, Emily?" Roxie asked, quickly pocketing the little red book away in her back pocket.

"It's called The Beautiful Ball by Ariel Ellison." Emily said, holding the book close to her chest, "It's my favorite."

"I bet."

When Roxie took the book away from the young girl, she scampered away to her bed and snuggled in like her sisters.

"Well then," Roxie said, pulling up a chair from the small table that sat in the corner of her sisters' room, "Let's begin shall we? Ahem…The Beautiful Ball by Ariel Ellison."

As Roxie opened the book, a picture of a young girl with long blonde hair appeared on the page. She was sitting by the window looking out at other girls her age walk down the street by her house. In the background were three little girls who were giggling and playing with dolls.

"Once upon a time there was a young girl named Belle. She was a beautiful girl, but she would never go out. You see, Belle had three little sisters who she had to stay home with every day because they needed to be watched after."

As Roxie read on, she could see over the top of the book each of her sisters' eyes closing two by two. Soon, Lucy, Sally, and Emily were fast asleep.

Roxie quietly shut the book and snuck out of the girls' room, shutting off the lights and cracking the doorway.

Once outside, Roxie dropped the book on the hallway floor and soon her cheerful face that she had put on for her sisters had faded away. Roxie's face soon had the face of an angry teenager on it.

Roxie went to her room, shut the door, and flopped on her bed.

"Ow!"

Something in her back pocket was stabbing Roxie in the butt. When Roxie went to go grab it, she remembered.

"The Labyrinth." Roxie said to herself.

She brought out the book and opened it to the page that she had left off on.

It was the part in the book when the young girl was wishing away her baby brother to the Goblins. As Roxie read on, she began to think if she could wish her little sisters away to the Goblins and be able to go out every weekend.

"That would be nice." Roxie said, "I wouldn't mind not having my sisters around for a while. I would be able to go out a majority of the time instead of staying home with my little sisters."

Roxie looked out the locked window of her room.

It had started to rain hard with some thundering and some lightening along with it, too. Roxie got up and closed the curtains of her windows just as a huge bolt of lightening flashed in the sky. The flash was followed by a clap of thunder that was short yet powerful.

"Whoa, since when did the weather forecast consist of a storm later tonight?" Roxie said, jumping as she walked back to her bed to finish her book.

But when she went to go and pick up the book, she noticed the page that Roxie had left off on hadn't been the page that was showing. When Roxie examined it more closely, she realized that the page that the book was open on was the page where the Goblin King had come to the aid of the young girl.

As Roxie read the passage that seemed to have little heart doodles around it, possibly, from her mother when she was reading it. Roxie seemed to get more and more absorbed by the book that time seemed to go by faster than it seemed.

When Roxie looked up at the clock on her stereo, the time read 9:00pm.

"Time for a break to check on the girls."

Roxie opened her door to something that sent chills up and down her spine.

The door to her sisters' room was open more than Roxie had left it before.

_Oh…my…lord! I am so dead when the parental units get back home!_

Roxie ran into her sister's room to find the covers up by the pillows seemingly to cover up her sisters' faces. Roxie went to turn on the lights in the room on, but the lights wouldn't come on.

"Girls?" Roxie called out into the darkened room, "Girls are you okay?"

Just then, there came banging from the window. Roxie just turned towards the noisy window and started towards it. Roxie's heart was beating so loud that that sound was ringing in her ears. Roxie reached out to the latch on the window…but then suddenly pulled back.

Roxie could feel her mother's voice ringing in her head as she pulled back her arm from the window.

_As long as you call me before hand, you may do whatever you please while we are out, but under any circumstances are you to open any of the windows while we are out!_

But as Roxie held off opening the window, the banging of the window got worse and worse and Roxie could hear the sound of people walking around and laughing around her.

Roxie turned to find no one in the room but herself. She grew more and more scared as the covers on each of her sisters' beds started to tousle and turn as if someone or something was underneath them.

The banging of the window got more and more severe as Roxie turned around and went around to each of her sisters' beds and turned down to the covers.

"OH MAN NO!!" Roxie yelled, backing up from the three empty beds that lay before her, "How could this happen?! Who could do such a thing?!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew open the window into the room.

Rain and wind pelted Roxie as she attempted to get the window shut. When she did finally get it closed, Roxie closed her eyes and started to cry.

She didn't know what was going on. Her sisters were missing, she didn't know who had taken her sisters, and, worst of all, she had just broken one of the biggest rules ever that her mother had laid down for her while her father and she were out. Roxie just clenched her hands into fists and looked down at her feet.

As Roxie sobbed on, she heard a voice come from behind her.

"Hello Roxanne."

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**OOO what is going to happen?! The anticipation is getting to me already and I write this story.**

**So, yes the message is still the same…the faster that you post your reviews, the faster that I will post the next chapter. **

**Thank you to all of the people who sent in reviews for the first chapter and I hope that you will send in more as the time goes on!**

**Hoping that you are all eating your peaches,**

**A Rose By Another Name**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes…I am back**

**I have had to crawl out of the abyss called school once again, but at least this time I got the chapter up a lot more quickly.**

**I would like to thank everyone for all of the reviews that you sent me. I was really happy to find that all of you like my story.**

**So…on with the show!**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own any of the characters or places or music from **_**Labyrinth**_**. Jim Henson, George Lucas, David Bowie owns those rights. I only own my own characters.**

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"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Roxie said, looking at the person who had just appeared in the middle of the room.

"You mean you don't know who I am?" the man said, walking towards Roxie.

Roxie went around to the other side of the room in hopes that this strange man wouldn't get hold of her. When Roxie got at a safe distance away from the man, she turned around and backed against the closet that was built into the wall. There, she made out some of what the man looked like in hopes to help the police when she called them later.

He was as tall as Roxie's father, but looked much younger. Roxie estimated that his age was maybe 39. He wore a strange outfit that Roxie had never seen before. His shirt, shoes, and cape were metallic-looking blue and his pants were black. His cape had a high collar and his hair was blonde and spiky. He wore a strange necklace and pendant around his neck.

Roxie could hear the sound of her heart beating in her chest. She could not and would not believe what was going on right now. She was alone in her house with a strange man that Roxie had no idea where he had come from, and her sisters were missing.

"No…I don't know who you are and I don't really care right at this moment." Roxie said, holding her ground right in front of the closet, "But what I do care about is you telling me where you came from, who you are, and if you had anything to do with my sisters being missing."

The man just smiled and put a hand on his hip. Roxie could hear scurrying coming from either sides of her, but when she looked around there wasn't anyone there.

A bolt of lightening flashed across the sky, making Roxie jump at the sound of the thunder that followed behind it.

When the light from the bolt illuminated the room, Roxie could see the man's mismatched eyes glimmer in the light. Roxie recognized those eyes….as though she had seen them in a dream or when she was a small girl.

"You never answered my question about who the heck you are." Roxie said, keeping eye contact with the man.

"You mean…your mother hasn't told you? Oh I am disappointed in Sarah!" the man said jokingly, walking towards Roxie with a smile on his face.

"How do you know my mother?"

"Oh we have a history together."

Roxie didn't know what this man was talking about. While Roxie stay pressed against the closet door in hopes not to get any closer to the man that was walking towards Roxie with a smile, a name came across her mind out of the blue. It was as though someone had put the word in her mind…and then her mouth.

"Jareth the Goblin King" Roxie said, loosening up.

"That's it; I knew that you knew who I was. You just needed some time to figure it out." Jareth said, laughing to himself as he stood closely to Roxie. He could feel her breath against his face as it began to get more nervous. Roxie looked so much like Sarah and had the attitude to boot. Every time that Roxie looked away, Jareth found a way to make eye contact with her.

"I remember stories that my mother used to tell me about her defeating you and getting Uncle Toby back from you. I remember how her eyes would glimmer when she would talk about it. Have you taken my sisters to the Underground like you did with Uncle Toby?" Roxie asked, hoping that she could get her sisters back from Jareth like her mother did oh so long ago.

"Yes…I am not going to lie to you, Roxanne. I took your sisters away to the Underground, but you have a chance to get them back."

"By solving your labyrinth."

"Correct, but…of course, how did I know?" Jareth said, walking and looking at some of the things that Roxie's sisters had on the top of their dressers, "Like mother like daughter."

He gave a wicked smile and turned to Roxie. He knew that that would anger Roxie, he had been watching over her for a while to figure out that to tick off Roxie…even just a little bit, all that you had to say was that Roxie was like her mother, Sarah.

"I AM NOTHING LIKE MY MOTHER!" Roxie yelled, covering her ears with her hands, "I am nothing like her!"

Jareth walked over to Roxie and held her close. Roxie hated it whenever someone would say that Sarah and she was the same. Roxie didn't notice that Jareth was holding her close for about 5 minutes. Roxie pushed Jareth away and told him never to do that again.

"You seemed to like it." Jareth said, smiling, "Besides, your mother didn't let me hold her that close until we started to dance at the ball."

"My mother wouldn't change the deal that you offered her, too." Roxie said to herself, smiling wickedly. She turned to Jareth. "I want to change a few things about the deal that you are going to offer me."

"Oh, what do you want to change about it?" Jareth said, interested about how she could change things around to make the deal more interesting.

"If I complete your labyrinth in the certain amount of time that you set for me, I get my sisters back and you leave us alone forever…that is one part of the deal that I want to change." Roxie said, keeping eye contact with Jareth and walking towards him, "But…if I don't solve the labyrinth in time, you let my sisters go and…"

"And what?"

"And…you can keep me in the Underground…as your Queen. Forever."

Jareth was surprised. No girl has offered herself up in defense of her siblings before. He thought about how it would be nice to have a queen with him in the Underground and just looked at Roxie. She was a beautiful girl and was very talented. He just smiled and walked to the window. Roxie followed him to the window so that she could follow him to the labyrinth.

"Well, do you accept my offer?" Roxie said, holding out her hand in hopes that Jareth would shake on it.

"I accept." Jareth said, making a crystal appear and blowing it towards Roxie.

When the crystal got to Roxie, it touched her chest and she let out a yell. There was a burning sensation and mark where the crystal had landed and the mark was in the shape of a heart.

"What the heck was that for?!" Roxie yelled, holding a hand to her chest in hopes that the pain would go away.

The crystal that had touched her chest had floated back to Jareth and was a shining bright red color.

"I just wanted to make sure that you kept your end of the bargain. I just stole your heart…and it is right here." Jareth held out the glowing red crystal and smiled. "So, if you ever decided to double cross me and not keep your side of this deal, then you will automatically become my queen and be put under a spell to love me, and only me, forever."

Roxie just glared at Jareth. How could he do this to her? Stealing his heart away from her so that he could guarantee Roxie becoming his Queen of the Underground.

Jareth had walked through the window and Roxie had followed him. In no time, they were standing at the top of the hill that overlooked the gigantic labyrinth that seemed to stretch out for miles and miles. Roxie turned to Jareth who was smiling and playing with the crystal that held her heart.

"Alright…well….how long do I have to solve your labyrinth? A day?"

"Thirteen hours exactly." Jareth said, walking over to a clock that hung in mid-air. "You have 13 hours in which to solve this labyrinth, otherwise…you are mine forever, love."

As Jareth uttered the last word, he disappeared into thin air along with the clock. Roxie glared at the place where Jareth once stood.

"Don't call me 'love'!" Roxie yelled, knowing that Jareth wouldn't be able to hear her.

With that, she just sighed and looked out at the labyrinth. It was larger than the picture in the book that her mother used to read to her. Just then, something hit her like a ton of bricks over her head.

_The book!_

Roxie had just remembered that she had put the little red book in her pocket when she went to check on the girls. She pulled it out of her back pocket and looked at the picture of the labyrinth that was in the book that looked down on the labyrinth from a bird's eye view. When Roxie looked closer at the picture, she noticed that there was a light line, supposedly drawn in pencil that followed a certain path of the labyrinth. Sarah must've drawn the path that she took when she went to save Uncle Toby. Roxie remember where her mother had started, closed the book, and looked out at the labyrinth.

"Well…let's get going, Roxie. We don't have that much time." Roxie said, stuffing the book in her back pocket and making her  
way to the beginning of a long, long adventure.

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**So…not as good as where I normally leave off for my other chapters…but still, it's still pretty cliffy.  
**

**I am sorry that I haven't been updating in such a long time…I have been busy with all of this school work that has been running me into the dirt. Thanks for all of the reviews, they are what keep me going with the story. **

**So, same as all before, the faster I get reviews, the faster that I put up the next story.**

**Wishing you all golden mornings and valentine evenings, **

**A Rose By Another Name**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello you all! I am back! Sorry about the absence, but I have been traveling around the country a lot lately…so I haven't had time to write.**

**But I am back and let's see what is going on with Roxie and her race against time!**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own any of the characters or places or music from **_**Labyrinth**_**. Jim Henson, George Lucas, David Bowie owns those rights. I only own my own characters.**

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Roxie had managed not to trip herself walking down the hill that head to the labyrinth. Roxie looked around as she descended the hill to the labyrinth at the surroundings around her. It was spread out and everything seemed to glitter because of the magic. It was beautiful.

At the foot of the hill, Roxie was in the center of a small courtyard of some kind. The first thing that Roxie saw was the large stone wall of the labyrinth. It loomed over her as though it was one of Roxie's teachers from school when they found her doodling in her notebook. Roxie looked around the place to find the door that her mother said would lead her into the labyrinth just as it did to her when she went to get her brother Toby. When she walked on, she heard someone talking a little ways off. Roxie opened the book to the part that Roxie was on and in the margin there was a name with a little number one in a circle next to it.

"'Hoggle'?" Roxie asked herself, wondering who the heck Hoggle was.

"He isn't here anymore. He left after Sarah grew up." A voice said from behind her.

Roxie jumped a little at the sound of the voice and turned around. When the person who was talking had come closer, Roxie stood in awe. It was a boy, looking no more than sixteen, walking towards Roxie. He stood just a little taller than her with his black hair tied up in a ponytail with a few strands of hair that fell in his fair face. He was dressed in a white shirt, black pants, and black shoes. He had a smile that made Roxie blush and bright greens eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. Roxie felt a small smile come across her face. As she smiled, she felt her chest start to burn a little bit. At first Roxie put her hand on her chest and winced, wondering what the heck that was, then she remembered what Jareth had said about her heart.

_As long as he has my heart, he can cause me pain or whatever else he thinks will get my attention whenever I or he thinks that I am in love with someone._

The boy took the object that he was holding that seemed like some sort of pump and sprayed it at some sort of bugs. Roxie just watched on, hoping that the boy would just continue on without noticing her, but that didn't seem to work. When he was done with the area that he was spraying, he turned around to see Roxie with her hand on her chest.

The boy smirked and walked over to Roxie. "He stole your heart, didn't he?"

Roxie snapped out of her daze just in time to not look like a complete idiot in front of this boy. Although, she wondered how he knew what Jareth had done to her.

"Yeah, he…wait…how did you know that?" Roxie asked, thinking maybe he was a spy for Jareth or Jareth in disguise.

"It's quite easy to see because of the mark on your chest and he just hurt you because he caught you thinking about someone else."

Roxie was a little bit astonished about how straight forward he was with his answer, but she still thought that he was Jareth in disguise or a spy for him. The boy saw the suspicion in Roxie's face and laughed a little to himself.

"Don't worry, I'm not Jareth." The boy said, walking up to Roxie and holding out his hand, "My name is Jack."

Roxie was hesitant at first to the niceness of this stranger that just so happened to make her blush and act like a complete fool, but then she looked the boy over. There was no way that Roxie could completely trust Jack, but there was something in his eyes that told Roxie that he wasn't Jareth. Roxie extended her hand and shook Jack's hand.

"My name is Roxanne, but you can call me Roxie." Roxie said, flashing a smile and still keeping eye contact with Jack, "My mom is Sarah, the girl who I think wished away my uncle to this place when she was a teen."

Jack's eyes seemed to widen a little bit when Roxie said her mother's name. "Your mom is Sarah Williams?!"

"Well, now she is Sarah Covey, but yeah…that's my mom."

Jack got excited and started to tell him the story of Sarah going through the labyrinth and defeating Jareth. When Jack had gotten to the part of when Jareth and Sarah danced together at the ball, Roxie raised and eyebrow about that. That was like her mother to do something that girly as to dance at a ball with a king, but then as the thought sank in…the more it looked appealing to a small part of Roxie. Roxie shook away the feeling as Jack started to walk down the side of the wall of the labyrinth, still telling the story. When Jack was done, Roxie was relived.

"Thanks for that, but I have heard that story before." Roxie said, looking up at the wall of the labyrinth, "My mom told it to me when I was little and my sisters' only want to hear that story every night before they go to bed."

"Oh, really then?" Jack said, smirking, "Well then, if you are so smart and have that story before so many times, then I would like you to tell me. How do you get into the labyrinth?"

Roxie smirked and looked up at the wall. In reality, she hadn't the slightest clue about how to get into this labyrinth, let alone solve it. When she made the bet with Jareth, she thought that there would be a door and a path illuminated in neon saying "This way to the castle and your sisters!" I guess that that wasn't going to happen. When Roxie was finished staring down the aged stone wall of the labyrinth, she turned to Jack with a defeated look on her face.

"I don't know! How _do_ I get into the labyrinth?" Roxie asked, hoping that by asking Jack something would happen that would at least aid her in getting in the stone wall.

Jack smiled and walked by Roxie to something behind her. "You get in right here!"

When Roxie turned around, she saw two large wooden door open right in front of her. He wasn't lying; there was the door to the labyrinth. Roxie turned to Jack and gave him a hug, but the happy moment was interrupted by a pain in her chest where the mark was.

"Oh god!" Roxie said, coming out of the hug quickly as the pain went away, "Geez is he always like this!?"

"Well, you did give him your heart! I would be acting like him too if you hugged me and your heart belonged to me!" Jack said, laughing a little bit.

"Well…I would rather have my heart belong to anyone besides him any day!"

Roxie walked into the labyrinth and looked around. There were two paths going in two directions for what seemed like forever! Roxie walked in and looked down both paths. They both looked the same to her, yet something wasn't right about them. Roxie chose a side by flipping a coin. It landed on heads and that, for Roxie, meant to go right. As Roxie walked down the path, she noticed that someone was following her. When she turned around, she found that Jack was following her. Jack smiled and turned around, seeing if there was someone that she was looking behind Jack.

"You see someone?" Jack asked, leaning against the wall and smirking.

"Yeah, I saw you! Why are you following me?" Roxie asked, wondering why this boy was being so kind to Roxie and following her.

"I just thought that you would want some company in your 'epic quest' through this large, dangerous labyrinth."

As Jack spoke, he walked up ahead of Roxie and checked her out as he passed her. Roxie just gave Jack a glare as he checked her out. She didn't like it when the guys at school would check her out and wolf whistle at her in the hallways. Roxie was also known to knock out the guys who did that, but with Jack, she felt almost flattered when Jack checked her out. Roxie followed Jack as he walked on further down the path and smiled.

"Really?" Roxie asked, skeptical about whether this labyrinth really held any threat to her, "I highly doubt that notion. I mean, there isn't anything that would hurt me in this labyrinth that Jareth put in here….is there?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I don't think that he would do anything to hurt _you_, but I am sure after that hug back there…he would try to at least try to get rid of me."

Roxie just shrugged off the idea and continued on. She didn't want to think about anything bad happening to Jack, he seemed like such a nice boy to keep around while she was solving the labyrinth.

After Roxie and Jack had been walking for a while, Roxie hadn't seen a turn of any kind in the labyrinth at all. Roxie was wondering where the first turn would be until she realized that Jack was missing. Roxie grew nervous, she thought about what Jack had said about Jareth probably doing something to harm him and panicked.

"JACK!" Roxie yelled, hoping that it would get his attention, "JACK WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"I'm right here, Roxie." Jack said, sticking his head out from a place in the wall.

When Roxie saw this, she screamed and backed against the wall behind her. All that she could see of Jack is his head that seemed to just float in midair.

"Jack…where is your body?!" Roxie asked, freaked out about what was going on, "All that I see is your head!"

"That's because I am in a turn, you almost walked right passed it!"

Roxie looked at the wall that the head of Jack was floating in front of and walked closer, seeing if she could see the turn that Jack said there was.

"There is nothing there but wall; I don't know what you are talking about." Roxie said, thinking whether Jack was completely sane or not.

Jack reached out and grabbed Roxie's arm, pulling her into the wall. "Yeah there is, c'mon!"

Roxie braced for the impact of the wall, but it didn't come. She opened her eyes to see that she had walked through the wall. Roxie was astonished about this.

"How is this possible?" Roxie said to herself, looking from left to right, seeing that there was indeed a turn in the labyrinth.

_Things aren't what they seem in this place, love._ Jareth's voice said in Roxie's head, seeming to mock Roxie a little bit as though the answer was the simplest ever.

"Stop calling me that!" Roxie out loud, getting ticked off about the little pet name that Jareth had adopted for her.

"He's talking to you, isn't he?" Jack asked, starting off to the right.

"Yeah. He keeps on calling me 'love'. It's really annoying."

Jack chuckled and continues on. Roxie started to walk to the right when she thought about what her mother had told her when she had told her the story of her adventure. Sarah had always said that she never regretted not going to the left on the first turn, knowing that she wouldn't have such a good story to tell her. Roxie always wondered and asked why her mother said that.

"_Because Roxie, then I would've gotten to the castle faster and then I wouldn't have met all of the crazy people that I did in the labyrinth."_

Her mother's voice rang in her head and Roxie started off to the left. Jack asked where she was going.

Roxie turned and smiled. "I'm going to the castle."

With that, Roxie winked at Jack and turned the corner. Jack smirked and followed Roxie around the corner. Yet when he did, he bumped right into Roxie. She was staring at the path ahead, which didn't lead to the castle. Instead it was a large forest that seemed to glitter with magic and was misty as the sea early in the morning.

"I thought we were going to the castle?" Jack asked, wondering why they weren't at the castle, "Why aren't we there?"

"I don't understand either." Roxie said, her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach, "We should be there, my mother told me that that path would lead right to the castle!"

Roxie was disappointed in her mother's directions, yet since when did her mother remember something right, she didn't even tell her the right way to get into the labyrinth when she told the story! Roxie, disappointed as she was, she just sighed and walked on.

"Hey!" Jack said, running after Roxie who was now a little ways up farther, "Where are you going? You don't even know if that is the right way!"

"Well, we won't know that unless we walk the path." Roxie yelled back at Jack, still walking on. She was determined to get her sisters back without getting married to Jareth in the process.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The throne room was all amuck with goblins fighting over food, drinking, and playing with live chickens. None of them seemed to notice the concern in Jareth's eyes as he watched Roxie and Jack in the crystal that was floating in front of him. At his feet was a goblin trying to polish Jareth's shoes without getting kicked in the face for the fifth time. In the center of the commotion filled throne room sat Lucy, Sally, and Emily, still in their night dresses and terrified of the commotion and goblins around them.

Emily had been crying and, being the oldest of Emily by sixteen minutes, was trying to comfort her in her sorrow. The goblins, trying to make the little girl stop, were doing everything in their power to make her happy. From somersaults to telling jokes, they tried everything, but nothing seemed to make the girl happy. Lucy, being headstrong, was yelling at Jareth who wasn't paying the least bit of attention to them.

"You know, when my sister gets here, she is going to beat the snot out of you for taking us away!" Lucy yelled over the many sounds of the throne room that were already filling up the space, "She is going to be so mad at you that she isn't even going to think about loving you!"

The last part of Lucy's rant was the only thing that Jareth heard as he made the crystal with the images of Jack and Roxie disappear. Just as the crystal watching Jack and Roxie disappeared, a crystal shining red appeared out the air. Jareth walked down to the little girl and smiled.

"Do you know what this is?" Jareth asked Lucy, holding the crystal out at the young girl.

Lucy studied the crystal in Jareth's hand with a questioning look on her face for a minute and then gave up on trying to figure out it was. "No…but I would bet that it has something to do with my sister Roxie."

"Well aren't you a smart girl because you are right that it does have something to do with your lovely sister Roxanne."

"Her name is Roxie!" Sally said, stomping her foot on the ground and accidentally on the tails of one of the goblins that were trying to calm Emily down. Sally was the same as Roxie when it came to people calling her Roxanne, she always had referred to her big sister as Roxie and that is what she would have engraved on Roxie's gravestone if Sally had her way.

Jareth smirked at the middle triplet. "Alright then, it does have something to do with _Roxie_. You see, in this crystal is the heart of your sister. If she doesn't stay true to her side of the deal that we made, I will cast a spell on this crystal and your sister will have no choice but to love me."

Emily had stopped crying after seeing the dance that the goblin who had their tail stepped on by Sally. Emily even started to do the dance with the goblin, but when Roxie's name was said, she stopped.

"That's not fair!" Emily said, giving Jareth a mad look.

That phrase was not foreign to Jareth. He had heard it many a times from Sarah…and Roxie. Especially when he peeked in to see how Roxie was doing, he always seemed to look in on her when she was uttering the phrase of "That's not fair!" Jareth smirked and sat down in his throne, still keeping his eyes on the three little girls that were sitting in the center of the mass of goblins in the throne room.

"Let's see…" Jareth started, making the crystal with the image of Jack and Roxie appear in his hand again, "how your sister feels about that."

With that, Jareth just chuckled and disappeared into thin air before blowing the crystal over to Lucy, Sally, and Emily. The little girls look into the crystal to see their sister and Jack walking in the woods, unknowing of the obstacle that lie just ahead of them.

* * *

**Ok, I admit it, I am not really good with cliffy endings, but I didn't feel like adding anymore to this chapter without running into the next chapter.**

**So, the procedure is the same as before, the faster that you R&R, the faster that I will post the next chapter. Thanks for all of the people who sent me in reviews telling me to keep up this story! I really appreciate it!**

**Wishing you many magical masquerade balls to dance in,**

**A Rose By Another Name**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all of the lovely reviews you all! I am sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I am working on another story that needed at least three chapters before I could be satisfied with myself about working on my other stories. Check it out if you read **_**Invader Zim**_** fanfics, it's called "An Angel with Fangs."**

**So without further adieu, let's continue on with our journey through the labyrinth with Roxie and Jack.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own any of the characters or places or music from **_**Labyrinth**_**. Jim Henson, George Lucas, David Bowie owns those rights. I only own my own characters.**

* * *

Roxie and Jack walked for what seemed like forever in the forest. Roxie was tired, hungry, and wishing she could just get to the castle. Jack was walking up ahead of her, trying to figure out which direction to go.

Jack and Roxie had been talking during the time that they had been walking. Roxie told Jack the basic things about Roxie, about how she liked to write, sing, dance, act, and draw in her spare time and that she wanted to be an actress like Sarah was. Jack didn't really have anything to say, all he really talked about how things were different when he was younger.

Jack was the brother of a girl who didn't care that much to bother to get him back. Jareth felt horrible for him and decided against turning him into a goblin, instead he made him a servant to Jareth.

"But your sister didn't even bother to try and get you back?" Roxie asked, trying to keep up with Jack as he weaved through the trees in the forest, "You mean Jareth just showed up and she just said that he could keep you?"

Jack tried to hold back the tears that came into his eyes at the memory that still stung him after all of the years he has been in the Underground. "Yes…that is exactly how it happened. Now, let's get back to the matter of getting back your sisters."

As Jack said this, he knew he was supposed to start walking, but he just couldn't. His feet felt like lead and all he wanted to do was cry. Roxie noticed Jack slumping to the ground and thought that something was wrong.

"Jack!" Roxie said, running over and sitting on the ground next to Jack. Even though Roxie couldn't see Jack's face, she knew that he was crying because she could see some tears falling to the ground. "Hey, hey, it's okay. She didn't know what she was thinking when she gave up such a wonderful brother."

Jack looked up at Roxie. No one really cared at all about his past as long as he did well in the present and the future. Roxie leaned in and gave Jack a hug, sitting in his lap. Jack was surprised at first about the hug coming from Roxie, but then Jack just wrapped his arms around Roxie's waist and brought her in closer. Jack had stopped crying and now was just content with Roxie in his arms.

"You know that people might get the wrong impression if they found you two like this."

Roxie looked up to find Jareth with a smile on his face and Roxie's heart in his hand. Roxie and Jack quickly stood up, Jack taking Roxie's hand in his. Something in Jack didn't want Roxie going anywhere…especially somewhere with Jareth.

"What do you mean by that?" Roxie asked, having a little bit of a fake innocence in the smile that was across her face, "If they found us like what? Oh, you mean like this?"

Roxie moved closer to Jack and wrapped her arms around Jack's neck again. Jack wrapped his arms around Roxie's waist again, loving the jealousy that flashed in Jareth's eyes. Jareth raised the crystal with Roxie's heart in it and gave a little smirk at Roxie.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jareth said, the crystal turning a dark red.

Roxie could feel the pain that she had felt before come back. At first she started to brave through it, hoping that maybe Jareth would stop seeing Roxie in pain, but then when he didn't stop, Roxie grew nervous. The pain was unbearable, as though someone was driving a dagger in her heart over and over again. Roxie got dizzy and dropped to the ground. Jack caught her and glared at Jareth.

"Jareth stop! Can't you see that you are hurting her?!" Jack asked, cradling Roxie who was now crying in his arms, "Why are you doing this?"

"Oh for no reason, I am just showing her that she needs to keep her end of the bargain." Jareth said the crystal in his hand now almost black.

Roxie couldn't hold on much longer. She knew that she needed to get out of this pain. Roxie managed to get out of Jack's arms and stand up. As she stood up, she felt the pain go away. Jack glared at Jareth who kept his gaze only on Roxie.

Jareth threw up the crystal with Roxie's heart in it, causing the crystal to disappear. "Most girls just give up after they go through that, but you seem to be tougher than you appear."

"I have to…" Roxie said, smirking as the tears rolled down her cheeks, "…otherwise how am I going to get my sisters back? By giving up? No chance!"

Jack stood beside Roxie, ready to catch her when she was to fall over, but she didn't fall. She stood straight up and smiled at Jareth, keeping eye contact with him.

"It's always a choice, Roxie." Jareth said, coming closer to Roxie who was still glaring at him, "It's always the easiest choice a girl like you could make."

"Roxie doesn't need your easy path." Jack said, giving a glare a Jareth, "She is a tough girl."

Roxie turned to Jack who gave a smile to Roxie as reassurance. Roxie's head started to spin again, only this time from the smirk from Jack. He was cute and he _was_ helping her get her sisters back, the least she could do was thank him. Jareth noticed a blush coming across Roxie's face and glared at Jack.

"Now, I didn't come all the way down here just to hear you little sob stories, but to tell you that you might need to get a hurry on your adventure because…" A clock appeared next to Jareth. Jareth started to turn the clock forward to 6 hours. "…you don't have that much time."

With that Jareth vanished into air along with the clock. Jack went to punch Jareth in the face only to hit the air where he once stood.

Roxie was shocked. "How could you do that? I can't solve this labyrinth in 6 hours! That's not fair!"

_You know that that was your mother's favorite phrase_ Jareth's voice mocked in her head.

"I know that…but this time it is coming from me!" Roxie yelled out loud, hoping that Jareth heard her.

Roxie walked up to the trunk of a tree and slumped to the ground. She couldn't finish this labyrinth in six hours without failing and having to spend an eternity in the Underground with Jareth as her husband. The word caused chills up and down Roxie's spine. Jack walked over to Roxie and held out a hand. Roxie took Jack's hand and smiled.

"We need to get going." Jack said, helping Roxie up, "We need to get this labyrinth solved, so that we can get your sisters back."

Roxie smiled. "Yeah…by the way, why were you so protective of me before?"

Jack blushed. He couldn't tell Roxie everything, but he could tell her at least some things.

"Well I think that you are far too beautiful of a girl to waist away here in the Underground for eternity as Jareth's wife." Jack said, starting to walk down the path that Roxie and Jack were walking down before.

Roxie blushed, no guy would dare to tell her that, but having that compliment coming from Jack made her blush. Roxie walked closer to Jack and held his hand.

"Thanks for that, it means a lot to me." Roxie said, smiling, "I really appreciate you helping me, too."

"You're welcome; I think that I would've seen you again anyway. This place has a way of bringing people together after a first meeting."

"Oh really, well then, I am glad that you decided to follow me."

"Why is that?"

"Because I don't think that I could've shown Jareth jealousy without you."

Roxie smirked as she walked ahead of Jack who stayed behind, smiling a very big smile. Roxie turned back to Jack and told him to hurry up. As Jack went to catch up, he caught sight of a rose bush growing on the side of the patch.

"Alright then, I will be right there." Jack said, plucking a rose bud off one of the branches of the bush, "Just needed to get something."

Roxie turned to find Jack with a rose in his hand. Roxie blushed and put the rosebud in her hair. "It's beautiful."

"Yes you are." Jack said, taking Roxie's hand and leading her down the path.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

As Roxie and Jack continued to walk, talk, and flirt a little bit, Jareth watched by help of crystal. He grew irritated with watching Roxie fall for the very servant that Jareth took in and raised. The goblins noticed Jareth's jealousy and started to make a joke of it.

"Don't worry, Your Highness," A goblin said, a group of goblins behind him snickering, "If she marries the servant, you can still see her around."

Jareth kicked the goblin. "Yes, well, let's see if their love can last or if she will just end up coming to me in the end."

Jareth gave an evil smirk and disappeared from the throne room again, chuckling as he did.

* * *

**Oh…jealousy seems to have driven Jareth a little bit mad. I think that Roxie and Jack better watch their backs. **

**So, thanks said for all of the wonderful reviews about the story! Sorry that I haven't been on top of this story but I was just writing another story!  
**

**R&R soon my friends and the next chapter will come soon!**

**Eat your peaches,  
**

**A Rose By Another Name**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay so school has been running me ragged for the past couple of days and that is why I haven't been posting for a while. So, I'm sorry for the delay to all of the people who follow this story. **

"**Without my permission, no one may cross." –Sir Didymus, **_**Labyrinth**_

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own any of the characters or places or music from **_**Labyrinth**_**. Jim Henson, George Lucas, David Bowie owns those rights. I only own my own characters**

* * *

Roxie and Jack had finally made it out of the forest and was now in a part of the labyrinth were the walls and the floors were made of some sort of brown stones. There were signs all over the place with hands that were pointing in different directions, making no sense to Roxie at all. As Jack and Roxie made it through the different turns and paths, it seemed that they were getting even more and more lost. Roxie and Jack turned and made their way into another dead end. 

"What is it with this labyrinth and all of its dead ends!" Roxie yelled as she pounded the stone wall with her fists, "It seems as though every time we take a turn, it's a dead end and we have to go backwards again to, yet again, another dead end."

"Well, you never know, it could seem like we were going backwards, when we are actually going forwards." Jack joked as he took Roxie's hand in his.

"That doesn't make any sense, Jack."

"Well, that is how it is here."

Roxie smiled and giggled a bit as she moved Jack's arm to around her waist. Roxie's mark started to tingle a bit, but not enough to cause her pain. The severe pain that was caused earlier made Roxie used to the mild pain that would be caused during a flirt with Jack here and a blush there. Roxie managed to find a path that didn't lead to a dead end, for once. She started to follow the twists and turns. As she walked the path of the labyrinth, she heard the sound of something off in the distance.

"What's that sound?" Roxie asked, walking a bit forward to get a better listen.

The melody was familiar in its own way as though she had heard it before in a dream. The slow sweet melody sounded as though it came from a string instrument of some sort, like a guitar, but the seemed to go higher than any guitar could ever go because Roxie didn't remember playing any of those notes when she played her guitar back home. Jack watched as Roxie investigated, she seemed to drift somewhere as she listened on. The melody was familiar to Jack; too, as though it brought back memories from a past experience his subconscious seemed to want to forget.

"Roxie, I don't have a good feeling about this." Jack said, coming out of his daydream, "I think that we should go back."

"Don't be such a worry wart." Roxie said, grinning and taking Jack's hand, "Let's just go see who is playing this music. All I want to do is compliment them on playing so well, you know, from one musician to another."

Jack and Roxie followed the path they were taking to an open courtyard. Roxie looked for the mysterious musician that had led her to the courtyard. Jack followed close behind Roxie, holding her hand. When Roxie looked around at the courtyard, she spied someone sitting in the farthest corner. There were shadows cast over this person, but Roxie could make out a little bit of what this person looked like. 

Roxie did notice that the mysterious person was a boy and he was playing something that resembled a guitar, only it didn't seem to have the three thick strings that a normal guitar had. When Roxie got closer, she noticed that he was wearing the same outfit that Jack was wearing, giving Roxie that he was a servant to Jareth, too.

"Hello, um, I was wondering if you could help us." Roxie called out, walking closer to the mysterious boy, "I was wondering if you knew a way to the castle at the center of the labyrinth."

The boy looked up and Roxie could see a smile spread across his face. He put his instrument down and stood up. The boy was tall with long brown hair with some pieces that hung in front of his pale face that was speckled with freckles. Roxie smiled a bit to herself at the sight of the boy. He reminded Roxie so much of someone, but she couldn't place the name to the face. The boy pushed his hair from his face to expose an eye patch that covered his right eye, leaving the brown eye the only one shining in the sunlight. 

"I could tell you," The boy said, his voice smooth as polished glass, "but then my master would be very disappointed with me."

"Are you are servant to Jareth, too?" Roxie asked.

"You could say that."

"I've never seen you around the castle before, when did you get here?" Jack asked, suspicious of the boy. It was as though he had seen Erik before, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"I arrived just about the same week that Jareth gave you the fairy duty for the rest of your time here." The boy said, keeping his gaze locked with Roxie even though he was talking to Jack, "He appointed me to keeping the throne room at least a little bit near decency."

Jack looked at Roxie who was smiling a bit. The face that Roxie was making at this new boy was making Jack feel sick to his stomach. 

The boy gave a smirk and held out his hand. "I'm terribly sorry; I must have forgotten my manners. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Erik."

"My name is Roxie." Roxie said as she went to shake Erik's hand, only to have it caught midway by Erik and brought up for a kiss. Roxie blushed and smiled a bit, "This is my friend Jack. He is helping me solve the labyrinth. My sisters were taken by Jareth and I have to kind of get them back."

"Well, I was just on my way back to the castle." Erik said, "I will be happy to escort you."

"I think that we can get there just fine by ourselves." Jack said, taking Roxie's hand in his, "C'mon Roxie, I think that I see a path over there leading to the castle."

"Jack, don't be so unkind." Roxie said, taking her hand out from Jack's hand, "If he wants to help, I think that we can use all of the help that we can get if we are going to solve this labyrinth on time."

With that Roxie took Erik's arm and started walking towards the castle. For a second, Jack thought about just turning back and leaving Roxie with her new friend to solve the labyrinth, but Jack's suspicions about Erik kept Jack from going back. Roxie turned around and called out to Jack to hurry up.

"I'm coming Roxie." Jack said, running up to Roxie and taking her hand in his.

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The sun was setting on the horizon and Erik managed to lead Jack and Roxie to a clearing. Roxie ran up and saw the castle outlined against the multicolored sky. When Jack ran up behind Roxie, he caught a glimpse of Erik smirking at Roxie. Erik had been flirting with Roxie the entire time that he was leading Jack and Roxie to the castle. Jack would sometimes have to hold himself back from wanting to punch Erik in the face for taking Roxie away from him. Erik caught sight of Jack looking at him and glared at him.

Jack glared back at Erik and walked up on the other side of Roxie. "So, are you ready to finally get your sisters back?"

"Yes I am and I can't wait to get out of here!" Roxie said, taking Jack's hand and smiling. Roxie started off to the castle, only to look back. Erik wasn't following them, but standing back. "Aren't you coming, Erik?"

"No, I apologize, but I must stay back. This battle is both of yours and I have no place in it." Erik said, coming up to Roxie and smirking, "But before we depart, may I have the honor of a kiss from a beautiful lady such as you?"

Roxie blushed and smiled. "Well, I don't see the harm in that."

"Perfect." 

Erik moved closer to Roxie and took her in his arms. Jack noticed that there was something familiar about the sight as he turned away from it, as though he had seen it happen before. Jack watched as Roxie and Erik leaned in and remembered where he had seen Erik before. Jack turned around just as Roxie's and Erik's lips touched. Jack ran up to Roxie, only to trip over a root in the ground. When Jack looked up, he saw that his suspicions were true about 'Erik'.

"LET HER GO JARETH!" Jack called, trying to get up, but the root was wrapped around his ankle, bringing Jack to the ground every time that Jack tried to get up.

Jareth chuckled as he kept Roxie's mouth muffled. Roxie was now yelling at Jack for him to help her through Jareth's hand that was over her mouth. Roxie tried to move away from him, but Jareth brought her closer, wrapping an arm around Roxie's waist. Jareth turned Roxie around so that she was facing Jack along with Jareth.

"I knew that you would eventually warm up to me." Jareth whispered in Roxie's ear, breathing down Roxie's neck, giving her the shivers. Jareth gave a kiss to Roxie's neck and looked up at Jack who eyes started to tear and whose face was red with anger, "Ah, teenage love, it never lasts."

"Jareth, if you harm her I swear I will…"

"You'll do what? What could a servant do to harm his master?"

Jack tried to get free from the root that was holding him down, but every time that he moved he was brought back down to the ground. Roxie's eyes started to water and she could hear her heartbeat ringing in her ears. How could she be so stupid as to fall for Jareth's trap? Roxie struggled some more, trying to get her mouth free so that she could tell Jareth to let Jack go. Jack struggled, wrestling with the roots that were now coming out of the ground in great numbers. Finally after a long fight, Jack was pinned to the ground, roots all wrapped around him. Roxie managed to get free from Jareth and ran over to Jack, trying her best to get him out, too.

"I'm so sorry." Roxie said, hugging Jack, "I was being ignorant and blind about all of this. If I hadn't been so stupid and giggly around him, maybe we could've…"

"This is not your fault, Roxie." Jack said, "You didn't know and I didn't remember in time to tell you what was really going on."

"I shouldn't have trusted him."

"Yet, strangely enough, you did," Jareth said, walking over to Roxie and Jack, "and that was your fault. You should know that you shouldn't trust strangers, well, unless they start chatting to you as Jack did."

"I wouldn't have trusted you if I would have known who you were!" Roxie said, standing up and looking Jareth in the eyes, "I wouldn't never had followed you, let alone let me kiss you if I had known who you were."

"Yet, at the same time, you did both of those things. It is surprising how a girl such as yourself will act around a boy that she finds attractive, the most unwise of things she will do…and the people she will hurt."

Jareth turned his gaze to Jack as he spoke. Roxie turned to find Jack, nearly in tears from the roots, but mostly due to the ache that filled his heart. Roxie knelt by Jack who was still struggling to get free and smiled to him. Roxie knew exactly what Jareth meant by that last part. She knew that Jack was envious of when 'Erik' and Roxie were together, laughing and flirting. The pain Roxie caused Jack was no mystery to Roxie, in fact it was all too much of an old friend, returning to strike Roxie's heart every once in a while. Roxie kept her gaze locked with Jack's gaze; the root's grasp was a little bit looser around Jack so that he could sit up in front of Roxie.

"I am sorry, Jack. I was a horrible friend." Roxie said, looking down at the ground then back up at Jack who was…smiling.

"I don't care, as long as you were truly thinking of me for even a moment." Jack said, freeing an arm and stroking Roxie's cheek affectionately with his hand. 

When Jack's hand stroked Roxie's cheek, Roxie could feel her chest burning a bit. Roxie turned to Jareth who was smirking and holding the crystal with Roxie's heart in it. 

"You know that you shouldn't be doing that so close to your destination." Jareth said, playing with the crystal.

"I don't care anymore!" Roxie yelled, turning back to Jack and kissing him, wrapping her arms around Jack's neck. Roxie could feel her chest starting to burn, but she ignored it. She broke from the kiss and smiled. "I love you, Jack…and I don't think that I couldn't love anyone else."

Jack smiled and kissed Roxie's lips gently. "I love you too, Roxie."

As Roxie and Jack uttered those lines of affection, the roots tightened around Jack and forced him to the ground. Roxie gasped and tried to get the roots off him, pulling at them. They started to get tighter around Jack, making it harder and harder for him to breathe. Roxie started to cry and turned to Jareth.

"STOP IT!" Roxie yelled at Jareth who was glaring at the boy now fighting to breathe on the ground, "Please stop! You are hurting him!"

"Why should I stop? He has stabbed me in the back by taking your heart even though I hold it in my hand right here." Jareth said walking over to Roxie who was trying to loosen the roots. She took her arm and brought her up and away from Jack.

"NO! LET ME GO! Make them stop! They are going to kill him!"

"Well, there is one way to save him, but it involves something that you must give me first."

"Anything, just please let him go! I don't want him to die!" Roxie pleaded, trying to get back to Jack only to have Jareth bring her back to him.

"You must give me your hand in marriage that is the only way that you will be able to save him and let him go free."

Roxie's could feel her throat go dry. She looked back at Jack who was struggling to breathe even more. A root had covered his mouth, making it impossible to both speak and breathe. Jack started to shake his head, his eyes tearing and the tears spilling down his face. Roxie turned back to Jareth and sighed. She stopped fighting and looking into Jareth's eyes, Roxie's green eyes pouring tears down her pale cheeks. 

"Do you accept my offer, my dear?" Jareth said, holding out his hand to Roxie.

Roxie turned to Jack who was shaking his head violently and trying to speak through the root that was covering his mouth. Jack didn't want Roxie to give up this easily just because she didn't want him to get hurt. Roxie turned away from Jack and sighed as she took Jareth's hand.

"I….do."

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**Wow…finally I get to the chapter where Jack and Roxie say that they love each other I thought that I would never get here. Thank you again for all of the lovely reviews, I'm terribly sorry that I have been horrible about posting; school is a beast (in the bad way) and has been sucking up my life.**

**So yeah, the process is the same as before, R&R please and I promise to work on the next chapter over my Christmas vacation.**

**Tootle Pip,**

**A Rose By Another Name**


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